Today's school lunches, Corn tortilla making tips & Homemade Hummus

Good morning!  Let me start you out with this nifty little tidbit that sums up my feelings with regard to GMOs, chemicals, additives, preservatives, and pretty much anything else that prevents food from being 100% real...

Yep...pretty much says it all.   It's why I do what I do.

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

Strawberries, homemade organic guacamole, organic blue corn tortilla chips, organic chick pea/black bean mix, brown rice, cheese skewers, & preservative free prunes. I've begun sticking a piece of frozen fruit in their water bottles.  It gives it a bit of flavor, and they are sure to drink it, this way. :) 

I made corn tortillas for the second time this weekend.  You can find more info here.

I use Bob's Red Mill Masa Harina, which is nonGMO, and I follow the recipe on the package.    The recipe calls for Masa, water & salt...that's it!  

So, I got a few tips from around the web, and decided to try them out.  

First...form the dough into a log. I was then able to just slice pieces off.

Second...wrap the tortilla press in plastic wrap.  This seemed to help with the sticking. 

Third...turn the tortilla 180 degrees after the first press, then press again.  I then used an offset spatula to gently remove the tortillas from the press.

Here they are cooking.  

Delicious!

I was able to get 27 small tortillas out of each recipe.  

I made my first homemade hummus this morning.  All-natural hummus can be found, but not at every store.  Health food grocers & Heinen's are some that carry it, but none of the hummus at our Walmart, for example, is all natural.  Since it isn't always convenient for me to drive 40 miles for a tub of hummus, I figured it was time to make my own!

Hummus is a simple enough thing, calling for a small number of ingredients.  Mine was made of chick peas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, & oil.   All organic, except for the oil, which was nonGMO, and the salt. 

Tahini is a paste made of toasted sesame seeds  & oil.  I used organic sesame seeds. 

1 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup oil

-Spread the sesame seeds in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and place in a 350 degree oven for around 5 minutes, tossing often.  Don't let them get too brown, just a light golden color. Let them cool.

-Toss sesame seeds into a food processor.  I use my Ninja chopper.  Pour in the oil and blend until smooth.  Store in fridge. This makes 3/4 cup tahini.

Here is pic of mine.

Now for the hummus.  If you are using dried beans, soak and cook as you normally would.  Whether using dried or canned, reserve the liquid.  

 Here are mine in the food processor.  I used all of the chick peas that I had cooked, which tripled the recipe.

I used the recipe found here.  Once again, all organic except for the oil (nonGMO) and salt.

 2 cups of chickpeas

1/4 cup liquid from chickpeas

3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Toss it all in the food processor, and blend until smooth. 

This will make 16 oz hummus. I tripled the recipe to make 48 oz, and froze 32 oz of it. 

Here is the baby, and he's pretty pleased.  Look at that goofy grin!  I gave him a big spoonful, and he gobbled it all up, saying "YUMMY!" over and over.

Enjoy!